Thursday, October 23, 2014

32

 On October 3rd Josh turned 32! Woohoo!
We celebrated as a family with his favorite brownies and ice cream. Bryn added the ninja turtle, which was a really nice touch :)
 Josh is the best of the best. I am so lucky to be his wife and the girls are sure lucky to have him as their dad. We love you, Josh!
I surprised Josh on the night of his birthday by arranging a babysitter (My cute niece Abby - Thank you, Abs!) and planning a little date night. We had dinner at Cheesecake Factory and then we did some birthday shopping for him at the Short Hills mall. We hadn't been on a date since our move, so it was a really great night!
(I'm embarrassed at the huge plate in front of me vs. the little pizza in front of Josh- ha ha! What can I say? I'm eating for two!)

Apple Picking


 A few days ago we went apple picking with my cousin Cara and her cute girls. We went to Melick's Farm in Oldwick, NJ - about 25 minutes away - and it was a really beautiful area. I am so grateful to live nearby Cara, and Bryn and Mya sure love living by Olivia and Lucy!

 36 weeks!
 Cara, Olivia, and Lucy









A Day at the Met

Josh was so nice to babysit the girls a few Saturdays ago and let me have a fun day in New York City on my own. I spent most of my day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which was just as wonderful (and huge!) as I remembered it. Here are a few favorites...
Velazquez
Rembrandt
Rembrandt
I love these huge portraits by Thomas Eakins and John Singer Sargent
More from Sargent
Degas
"The Harvesters" by Pieter Bruegel 
"Flight into Egypt" by Henry Ossawa Tanner (I've never even heard of this artist before, but I loved this painting!)
The one on the right is a Rockwell Kent painting
 Vermeer (one of my favorites!) and John H. Twachtman

 Van Gogh
 
 Cezanne (his still lifes are always so good) and Gauguin
 I loved this one from John. H. Twachtman
 Picasso
William Baziotes and Picasso

 Andre Derain and Chuck Close

 Picasso and Manierre Dawson
"Self Portrait - Looking at the Last Supper" by Marisol
Klimt and Monet
Manet and Ingres
The Met is such a fabulous art collection ...and I only saw a fraction of the galleries. It's always so good for my soul to be surrounded by such great art. I feel lucky to be living back east, so close to such great art collections. Thanks to Josh for letting me have a fun outing into NYC!

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Mya


Mya is the sweetest little two year old around and we are sure getting a kick out of her at this age! Here are some Mya pictures from the past month...
Mya loves digging in the backyard while I make dinner. It's a pretty great set-up to be able to watch them through the glass doors while I make dinner inside. This is our first house with a real back yard and it's great!
 Mya loves to help me cook and bake. It always takes longer and is messier when she is my assistant, but she loves it and it's pretty cute. 
 She LOVES dress-ups - a new development in the last few months. Usually she is "Princess Olivia"  - her second-cousin that she idolizes :)
Our master bed didn't survive the move and we still haven't bought a new one, so Josh and I just sleep on our mattress on the ground. Mya loves that we have such a low bed because she can climb on so easily. I'm usually awoken in the morning by this little cutie who cuddles up next to me with her blankie and a few books.  
 Sidewalk chalk is a daily activity around here.
Mya's hair is finally long enough for pig tails and she's pretty proud about it. Every day she asks for an "Elsa braid" in her hair, but we've still got a long way to go til her hair is long enough for that!
 We don't have TV, but the girls do love watching Sesame Street videos on the ipad. Mya's personal favorite is the "Walk" song by Elmo + Destiny's Child. She sings it all day. 
 Maybe I already posted about this, but Mya is officially out of her crib and loving her new bunk bed. Sometimes she gets silly and tries to sneak out of bed, but she's in a pretty good habit of staying in bed at night. 
 Baby dolls + stuffed animals + dress-ups
 Josh has had long hours lately, but the girls sure make the most of the time they get with him. Their excitement when he walks in the door is so cute. They just pounce on him!
 This is so typical of Mya lately. When it's time to go and I'm grabbing my purse and keys Mya always runs around frantically and grabs her purse (or two) and a few random things like a baby doll, hat, fake cell phone, etc. 
We love you Mya! You just get cuter and cuter!